Black Catholic History Month

African Americans have always practiced medicine, yet for many years prejudice has obscured their accomplishments. From antebellum time to the 20th century pioneers have faced a challenging journey. Regardless of the difficulties they faced, early African Americans in medicine became skilled practitioners paving the way for subsequent generations of physicians, surgeons and nurses.

Dorothy Celeste Boulding Ferebee (1898-1980)

She started her own medical clinic in an impoverished neighborhood of Washington D.C. following the completion of here medical training in 1925, A member of several civic organizations and with impressive education credentials, Ferebee dedicated her life to lowering the mortality rate among African American communities in the South. She succeeded Mary McLeod Bethune as president of the National Council of Negro Women in 1949 and she founded the Women’s Institute, which advocated for providing women with adequate health care.

Louis T. Wright (1891-1952)

He became the first African American appointed to the surgical staff at Harlem Hospital in 1919. He immediately protested the poor conditions present and to work improving patient care standards and the professionalism of the staff. Writing to the NAACP magazine Crisis in the 1930’s Wright challenged those who believed that African Americans harbored more diseases than the rest of the population. He continued to work at the Harlem Hospital until 1949, where he also became an expert on head injuries and served as the resident of its medical board.

Rebecca J. Cole (1846-1922)

She became the second African American woman to receive an M.D. degree in the United States. ( Rebecca Crumpler M.D. graduated from the New England Female Medical College three years earlier in 1864.) To overcome gender and racial barriers, Rebecca trained in allfemale institutions run by the first generation of female physicians who graduated around mid century. To gain clinical experience she worked at Elizabeth Blackwell’s New York Infirmary for Women and Children. Beginning here and continuing throughout her career, colleagues praised her impressive clinical skills along with her tact, ability and energy for her work.